Clothesline Project

The Clothesline Project is a visual display bearing witness to all forms of interpersonal violence. The mission originated in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1990 as a means of encouraging people to break the silence and bear witness to the issue of violence against women. Since then, the project has expanded to include many other (many times overlapping) forms of violence, including sexual abuse, child abuse, and stalking.

Rutgers University began their own clothesline in 1998, and since then it has evolved to include over 400 shirts, all designed and created by members of the Rutgers community who had either experienced violence first-hand, or who made their shirts in honor of those who were unable to do so themselves. Each year the line is hung between trees on Voorhees Mall (CAC) so that people can bear witness to those that have already been created, and survivors and their loved ones are welcome to design new shirts to be hung alongside those from years past.